Otages en péril

A very lame plot based on political thinking of the late 90s, that paints serbs as the bad guys...why they picked romainia for the "location of the embassy nuke" is beyond me since there was at one point an American embassy in yugoslaia and should have had a nuke as well...no matter. every aspect of the movie made it a poorly made b movie.

i have to mention, when reading some reviews, i was more appalled by some of those than i was by this movie. a great example is the review "Beware 'low cost production' countries" written by "davidshort10"...i his review he says "..(by the way, Romania was not part of the Warsaw Pact..", but of course anyone who knows anything about the warsaw pact knows that romania was a proud member of that pact. another statement (made in 2006), "..and oh by the way Croatia is not a UN member country)", although crotia has been a member of the UN since 1992.

you can watch the movie for free online, so you have nothing to lose but time.

This political thriller has a pretty good, up-to-date story (Serbian terrorists seeking revenge after one of their leaders is kidnapped by US soldiers to stand trial in Hague); but the execution is strangely lifeless and dull. Tom Berenger had top billing on my video cassette cover, but he didn't appear until about half of the movie had passed, and even then he got less screen time than Weller's son, played by teenage heartthrob Jeremy Lelliott. There is one rather catchy plot twist near the end (I didn't see it coming, maybe someone more observant would have) involving Weller and Hannah; but it didn't save this movie from being quite mediocre. By all means, the action stunts, the explosions and the machine-gun-firing is impressive, but the story and (most of) the acting is not. So unless you're a die hard fan of either of the actors involved, you probably won't be satisfied after watching this movie. Rating on a dice, I'll probably give it a 3 (out of 6).

DIPLOMATIC SIEGE is a low rent thriller that rounds up a half-decent cast and throws them into a clichéd and predictable storyline involving some evil Serbian terrorists who take over the US embassy in Romania and proceed to issue various demands else the hostages will be executed. Of course, it's up the usual renegade heroes who are trapped on the inside to find a way to defeat their enemy...

Despite this being a B-movie in every respect, it's actually quite enjoyable with strong, clear choreography and crisp direction from Gustavo Graef Marino. Okay, the script was never going to win any awards for originality, but there's a brisk pace that doesn't let up and some fun moments for the known actors. There are some well-mounted shoot-outs with machine guns and the like but our heroes spend the movie evading the enemy rather than engaging, so DIE HARD it ain't.

Headlining the cast is Peter Weller (ROBOCOP), putting in a typically assured performance, and cast opposite him is Daryl Hannah, shortly before Tarantino cast her in KILL BILL. The third known face is Tom Berenger, sleepwalking through a stereotypically tough military role, although cult fans may spot an aged Brion James lower down as a stuffy US general. DIPLOMATIC SIEGE is only average at best but as B-movies go it isn't too bad at all.

I'm usually a sucker for mindless action flicks, but this was an incredible waste of time, both for the actors involved and anybody who tried to watch. The military special effects are laughably fake, with colored smoke substituting for real explosions. I like Weller, Hannah, and Berenger, but even they cannot rise above this horrendous made-for-TV script. In fact, this was easily their worst film -- for all of them. When the actors do stop to give their lines, the result is often unintentionally humorous. There are far too many unnecessary plot elements, making the movie feel like 6 different scripts were thrown into a blender. The scenes stolen from other movies ranging from Mission Impossible to Toy Soldiers are immediately recognizable and come across as gratuitous and weak. It's just a shame. There was so much potential, instead it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

"Diplomatic Siege" tells of those involved in the siege of the American embassy in Bucharest for the purpose of compelling the UN to release a Serbian officer being held for war crimes. The film is an ambitious project which self-destructs in the process of trying to do too much. An utter failure not recommended for anyone.